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This is a fun and obscure replica. When I found out that the phones used throughout the ship on the new
"Battlestar Galactica" were military surplus, I had to have one. As it turned out, I got two.
 I found a pair on eBay for a nominal fee and started recreating the look of the Galactica phones. The originals were used in the military from the
1950's through (possibly) the late 1980's. They are called field phones. They are glorified walkie talkies. A wire is strung between them and they are sound powered. You pump the lever on the side to generate current to ring the connected phone and then talk.
It works as I received quite a shock when I touched the lead after activating the lever. Won't make that mistake again.
 The phones were olive drab and required restoration and painting. I started with a metallic aluminum base and covered that with dark gray.
Then I buffed and sanded the gray to reveal the aluminum color on edges that might receive wear if this were made of metal. The effect is quite convincing. The original phones had no wall mount, so I created them from wood and sheet aluminum.
They contain a pressure switch that is open when the phone is seated and closed when the receiver is lifted. That also activates the amber light on the wall unit. I made them the typical Galactica octagon shape and also weathered them as if
they were made of metal. I kept one phone for my collection and sold the other to offset the costs.
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